[wba13]

Can’t see Val said anything wrong, the player is not committed,I’ve heard he is not doing much in training.
Madeley has spoken on The Athletic.

In a nutshell:
- MP wants to leave and VIs comments about his commitment has given him an opportunity to spin them negatively
- Club are happy to sell as he doesn’t have a defined role in VI’s system, and feel money can be better invested elsewhere
- We have put a £30m valuation on him, and if that’s not met, he stays, even if it means freezing him out
- Open to a loan but will need to be a sizeable fee up front
- MP’s agent speaks little English and has no connections in the U.K. which is making a deal difficult.
- Some PL interest but as yet, no bids. Al-Hilal’s £10m bid the only one so far which was rejected out of hand.
- No expectation MP will be involved in any match day squads for the duration of this.
- Club taking action against player and reporting Al-Hilal for illegal approach but nothing expected to come of it as it’s fairly common practice.

[BaggieSteve]

Like most of us, I’d love to see Pereira stay as he’s a terrific player and would be the stand out in the Championship. However, he wants to play either at a higher level or earn more money- or both - and I respect his decision. He’s not the first and certainly won’t be the last. I think the manager is correct to exclude him in the pre-season matches - if you’re building a squad and developing a certain ethic & style of play, why include a player who you know won’t be with you? The sooner we agree a deal so that we can, hopefully, reinvest the money, the better.
I guess we have very different views on Pereira’s statement. I didn’t have a problem with it, I thought it was honest in that he didn’t hide the fact he wanted to leave and that money was a factor. We can debate the question of “how much money does one person need?” but I think that’s largely irrelevant. Even average players are earning more in a week than most of us will earn in a year but that’s just the nature of the industry they’re in; players don’t compare their salaries with Joe Public and realise how lucky they are, they compare themselves with others in their profession and think they’re being unfairly treated. We may think that’s ridiculous but it happens in every profession in every walk of life. So, good luck to the guy, I hope he gets the move he wants, I hope we get the right amount of money for him and I hope Val gets to invest it in a bloody good striker.

[Dingle-Dingle]

MP’s agent speaks little English and has no connections in the U.K. which is making a deal difficult.

Perhaps his agent is Ferengi..........

The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition

16 A deal is a deal... until a better one comes along.
17 A contract is a contract is a contract... but only between Ferengi

DD

[4evaabaggie]

Pereira responds and he’s chasing the money.
https://scontent.flhr3-4.fna.fbcdn.net/v...e=610DCF36

Don't want him to leave, a great player, but an honest statement. He has never come out and disrespected the club, never said directly he wants to leave. He deserves to play top level football, there is no guarantee we will get promoted, he has to do best by his family.
Agents are the main issue, they put poison in players ear and start touting them around in front of the big boys.
He owes us a little which we will get back in a big transfer fee, I am more p@&#@d at the academy players we took from promising kids to rising stars only for them to refuse to sign contracts and leave for peanuts. Players that have cost us years and years of investment only to show us no loyalty.
If he goes for the right cash, good luck to him. All the scum that went to villa, I hope their careers are very short lived.

---

Welcome Adam, takes us back to the greed league.

Hope Sam signs a new contract but not hopeful.

Need an out and out goalscorer.

A good pre-season but squad is vulnerable.

I’m sorry but did you read his statement, he says himself I want to leave. He wants to go to an inferior league because he’s chasing the money so that is being disrespectful, we have known he wants out get a deal done as good as a player that he is.

Yes 13, I read his statement, I did not have a problem with it.

I work hard, I earn in a year, half what he earns in a week. I am committed to my work, I will always work hard, do the best for my employer and service users. But I want to leave and my colleagues know this. I have issues with the lack of teamwork, poor management and about a third of my colleagues being lazy or substandard.

MP has not bad mouthed the club or the supporters in the way others (Saido, Odem) did trying to force an exit, he never came out in public stating he wanted to leave, I believe he was not played by mutual agreement, the media were selling him before our relegation was confirmed, you don't risk your prize asset if your going to sell and you wouldn't play a player that won't be here next season or fit into your new style of play.

He felt he was being bad mouthed about his work ethic, commitment and loyalty, he choose to speak up and defend himself. He has not bad mouthed the management of the club, some fans on here have said worse about managers and the owner in recent years.I

If he goes to a higher standard of football good luck, he has my blessing, if he goes to a lower standard for three and a half times his current wage it shows a lack of ambition but I still say thank you and good luck.

I will say no more on this issue.

[Slick_Footwork]

I believe it's completely unprofessional for a player to make a public statement UNLESS they have been wrongly accused of something. That isn't the case here.

We have to ask, what is Pereira's intention from this statement?

He "claims" it's because the manager "disrespected" him by saying he's not committed to the club...

When I read this opening gambit, I expected him to follow up with a statement saying while he has expressed a desire to play at a higher level, he is willing to give his all for the club until a bid is accepted...

But he doesn't say this, in fact he says nothing to prove why the manager's statement is so "disrespectful". So why even make a statement at all?

Well... I believe the statement's real intention is to make his position at the club untenable (IMO deliberately) so the club are forced to accept a lower fee for him. He has no right to be talking about salary packages he has been offered when the club he's contracted to hasn't accepted an offer for him.

As I say, I have no problem with him wanting to leave (for whatever reason, cash or ambition) but I do have a problem with unprofessional behaviour and trying to force a move...

Clearly the club want to sell him (No club wants a player with transfer value just sat on the side lines) so he should just be quiet and professional until the deal is done. He should also be willing to honour his contract if the club do not receive a suitable bid for him. It doesn't seem that is the case.

We all want him out the door but the fee must be enough to replace him. It's not for him to dictate what is a fair fee when he's got 3-4 years left on his contract.

[BaggieSteve]

If Pereira felt he had been disrespected then it’s not surprising he wanted to respond. Whether Val’s remarks were disrespectful can only really be judged by the recipient, in this case Pereira. Whether it was Val’s intention, I very much doubt but that’s how Pereira took it and they were genuinely his feelings. I’m not aware he has refused to play, as some have surmised, I rather get the impression it’s a joint agreement between him and the manager, in advance of a transfer. But who knows.

I think it’s a real pity his time is ending at the Albion like this, no-one should leave their employer under a cloud if they can help it. I think it’s all getting a bit silly now and out of proportion. As you say, Slick, sell him, get the maximum we can - and yes it’s our valuation that counts - and reinvest in the team

[Blue Baggie]

Some strange happenings ATM. Val has apparently said we don't need anymore signings. Read into that what you like, none of us expected 4 free transfers to get us promoted. It could be more gamesmanship - I hope so. If he's being 100% truthful, I fear we are in real trouble.
We all know money is tight but with some funds from Harper, Field, Ferguson fees. Goodness knows how much money taken off the wage bill, we must have several million to play with ?
If Val has nothing, the club must have removed any funds we did have ?
Why sell Sam or Pereira if Val can't spend anything ?

[WBA-Josh]

Yoshinori Muto has left Newcastle. Could he be worth a look at on a free to give us an additional striker and competition down the middle for Robinson?

[silverbaggie]

Yoshinori Muto has left Newcastle. Could he be worth a look at on a free to give us an additional striker and competition down the middle for Robinson?

The last striker we signed from The Toon spent more time on the treatment table than he did on the pitch.

[Dingle-Dingle]

Sam back early from holibobs and training with the squad. Whispers of new contract to be offered with a release clause.

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/f...er-news/we

DD